Jay-Z Confirms He Made Joint Album with Beyonce, Talks Marriage Struggles & ‘Lemonade’

Jay-Z candidly spoke about the issues he faced with Beyonce at the time that she released Lemonade.

During an interview with New York Times‘ magazine, Jay-Z was asked, “Was it difficult to say: ‘I’m gonna talk about the problems in our marriage. I’m gonna talk about how we almost lost things.’ And for her to say: ‘I’m gonna talk about my pain and anger at you.’ What were those conversations like?”

Jay-Z responded, “Again, it didn’t — it didn’t happen in that way. It happened — we were using our art almost like a therapy session. And we started making music together. And then the music she was making at that time was further along. So her album came out as opposed to the joint album that we were working on. Um, we still have a lot of that music. And this is what it became. There was never a point where it was like, ‘I’m making this album.’ I was right there the entire time.”

Jay-Z was then asked about the reaction to Lemonade and her reaction to 4:44: “…both very, very uncomfortable, but […] the best place in the, you know, hurricane is like in the middle of it. We were sitting in the eye of that hurricane. Uh, maybe not use hurricane because so many people are being affected right now. But the best place is right in the middle of the pain. And that’s where we were sitting. And it was uncomfortable. And we had a lot of conversations. You know. [I was] really proud of the music she made, and she was really proud of the art I released. And, you know, at the end of the day we really have a healthy respect for one another’s craft. I think she’s amazing.”

Jay-Z added, “You know, most people walk away, and like divorce rate is like 50 percent or something ’cause most people can’t see themselves. The hardest thing is seeing pain on someone’s face that you caused, and then have to deal with yourself.”